1The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders
from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the
days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of
Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2
He said, "The LORD roars from Zion
And from Jerusalem He utters His voice; And the
shepherds' pasture grounds mourn, And the summit
of Carmel dries up."

3Thus says the
LORD, "For three transgressions of Damascus and
for four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.
4"So I will send
fire upon the house of Hazael And it will
consume the citadels of Ben-hadad. 5
"I will also break the gate bar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven,
And him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden;
So the people of Aram will go exiled to Kir,"
Says the LORD.

6Thus says the
LORD, "For three transgressions of Gaza and for
four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they deported an entire population To
deliver it up to Edom. 7"So
I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza And it
will consume her citadels. 8
"I will also cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
And him who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon; I
will even unleash My power upon Ekron, And the
remnant of the Philistines will perish," Says
the Lord GOD.

9Thus says the
LORD, "For three transgressions of Tyre and for
four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they delivered up an entire population to Edom
And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. 10
"So I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre And
it will consume her citadels."

11Thus says the
LORD, "For three transgressions of Edom and for
four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because he pursued his brother with the sword,
While he stifled his compassion; His anger also
tore continually, And he maintained his fury
forever. 12 "So I
will send fire upon Teman And it will consume
the citadels of Bozrah."

13Thus says the
LORD, "For three transgressions of the sons of
Ammon and for four I will not revoke its
punishment, Because they ripped open the
pregnant women of Gilead In order to enlarge
their borders. 14
"So I will kindle a fire on the wall of Rabbah
And it will consume her citadels Amid war cries
on the day of battle, And a storm on the day of
tempest. 15"Their
king will go into exile, He and his princes
together," says the LORD.

2 Judgment on Judah
and Israel

1Thus says the LORD, "For three
transgressions of Moab and for four I will not
revoke its punishment, Because he burned
the bones of the king of Edom to lime. 2
"So I will send fire upon Moab And it will
consume the citadels of Kerioth; And Moab will
die amid tumult,
With war cries and the sound of a trumpet. 3"I
will also cut off the judge from her midst And
slay all her princes with him," says the LORD.

4Thus says the
LORD, "For three transgressions of Judah and for
four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they rejected the law of the LORD And
have not kept His statutes; Their lies also have
led them astray, Those after which their fathers
walked. 5"So I will
send fire upon Judah And it will consume the
citadels of Jerusalem."

6Thus says the
LORD, "For three transgressions of Israel and
for four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they sell the righteous for money And
the needy for a pair of sandals. 7
"These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head
of the helpless
Also turn aside the way of the humble;
And a man and his father resort to the same girl
In order to profane My holy name. 8
"On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,
And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have
been fined.

9"Yet it was I
who destroyed the Amorite before them, Though
his height was like the height of cedars
And he was strong as the oaks; I even
destroyed his fruit above and his root below. 10
"It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And I led you in the wilderness forty years That
you might take possession of the land of the Amorite. 11
"Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets
And some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is
this not so, O sons of Israel?" declares the LORD. 12
"But you made the Nazirites drink wine, And you
commanded the prophets saying, `You shall not prophesy!' 13
"Behold, I am weighted down beneath you As a
wagon is weighted down when filled with sheaves. 14
"Flight will perish from the swift, And the
stalwart will not strengthen his power, Nor the
mighty man save his life. 15
"He who grasps the bow will not stand his ground,
The swift of foot will not escape, Nor will he
who rides the horse save his life. 16
"Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,"
declares the LORD.

3 All the Tribes Are
Guilty

1Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you,
sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from
the land of Egypt: 2
"You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." 3
Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?
4Does a lion roar in the
forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion
growl from his den unless he has captured something?5
Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in
it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it
captures nothing at all? 6If
a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?
If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it? 7
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His
servants the prophets. 8A
lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD
has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

9Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the
citadels in the land of Egypt and say, "Assemble yourselves on the
mountains of Samaria and see the great tumults within her and
the oppressions in her midst. 10"But they do not
know how to do what is right," declares the LORD, "these who hoard
up violence and devastation in their citadels."

11Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
"An enemy, even one surrounding the land, Will
pull down your strength from you
And your citadels will be looted."
12Thus says the LORD, "Just as the
shepherd snatches from the lion's mouth a couple of legs or a piece
of an ear, So will the sons of Israel dwelling
in Samaria be snatched away-- With the
corner of a bed and the cover of a couch! 13"Hear
and testify against the house of Jacob,"
Declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts.
14 "For on the day that
I punish Israel's transgressions, I will also
punish the altars of Bethel; The horns of the
altar will be cut off And they will fall to the
ground. 15"I will
also smite the winter house together with the summer house;
The houses of ivory will also perish And the
great houses will come to an end," Declares the
LORD.

4 "Yet You Have Not
Returned to Me"

1Hear this word,
you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, Who
say to your husbands, "Bring now, that we may drink!" 2
The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness,
"Behold, the days are coming upon you
When they will take you away with meat hooks,
And the last of you with fish hooks. 3
"You will go out through breaches in the walls,
Each one straight before her, And you will be
cast to Harmon," declares the LORD.

4"Enter Bethel
and transgress; In Gilgal multiply
transgression! Bring your sacrifices every
morning,
Your tithes every three days. 5
"Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened,
And proclaim freewill offerings, make them known.
For so you love to do, you sons of Israel,"
Declares the Lord GOD.

6"But I gave you
also cleanness of teeth in all your cities And
lack of bread in all your places, Yet you have
not returned to Me," declares the LORD. 7
"Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you While
there were still three months until harvest.
Then I would send rain on one city And on
another city I would not send rain; One part
would be rained on, While the part not rained on
would dry up. 8"So
two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water,
But would not be satisfied; Yet you have not
returned to Me," declares the LORD. 9
"I smote you with scorching wind and mildew;
And the caterpillar was devouring Your many
gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD. 10
"I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt;
I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses,
And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD. 11
"I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze;
Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD. 12
"Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet
your God, O Israel." 13For
behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind
And declares to man what are His thoughts, He
who makes dawn into darkness And treads on the
high places of the earth, The LORD God of hosts
is His name.

5 "Seek Me that You
May Live"

1Hear this word
which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel: 2
She has fallen, she will not rise again-- The
virgin Israel. She lies neglected on her
land; There is none to raise her up.
3For thus says the Lord GOD,
"The city which goes forth a thousand strong
Will have a hundred left,
And the one which goes forth a hundred strong
Will have ten left to the house of Israel."

4For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel,
"Seek Me that you may live. 5
"But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to
Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba;
For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And
Bethel will come to trouble. 6
"Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will
break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph,
And it will consume with none to quench it for
Bethel, 7For
those who turn justice into wormwood And cast
righteousness down to the earth."

8He who made the
Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness
into morning, Who also darkens day into
night,
Who calls for the waters of the sea And
pours them out on the surface of the earth, The
LORD is His name. 9It
is He who flashes forth with destruction upon the strong,
So that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10They hate him
who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who
speaks with integrity. 11
Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor
And exact a tribute of grain from them,
Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone,
Yet you will not live in them; You have planted
pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine. 12
For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great,
You who distress the righteous and accept bribes
And turn aside the poor in the gate. 13
Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is
an evil time.

14Seek good and
not evil, that you may live; And thus may the
LORD God of hosts be with you, Just as you have
said! 15Hate evil,
love good, And establish justice in the gate!
Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be
gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the Lord,
"There is wailing in all the plazas, And in all
the streets they say, `Alas! Alas!' They also
call the farmer to mourning And professional
mourners to lamentation. 17"And
in all the vineyards there is wailing,
Because I will pass through the midst of you," says the LORD.

18Alas, you who
are longing for the day of the LORD, For what
purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?
It will be darkness and not light; 19
As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets
him,
Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him. 20Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of
light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?

21"I hate, I
reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your
solemn assemblies. 22
"Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain
offerings, I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your
fatlings. 23"Take
away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not
even listen to the sound of your harps. 24
"But let justice roll down like waters And
righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25"Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain
offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
26"You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your
images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27"Therefore,
I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose
name is the God of hosts.

The Holy Bible, New American
Standard Version (c)1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by the Lockman
Foundation, La Habra, CA. All rights reserved. Words
identified as being spoken by Jesus are in red.www.BibleABC.net